QuinnShots
by smarty350
Summary: Quinn picks up the pieces of her life after the Baby-Daddy scandal breaks. Eventual Finn/Quinn, Puckleberry. Ch. 10: Epilogue
1. A Bun in the Oven

Quinn Fabray

It had been exactly a week.

One week since what was left of my world came crashing down.

One week since I loaded my old Cheerios duffel full of everything I had left into my car, and left Finn's house for what I honestly believed would be the last time.

One week since I first had to sneak through the back door of Brittany's house up to the attic, where she had offered to let me stay. And three days since her mom found me and refused to have such a "bad influence" anywhere near Britt and Jennie, Britt's little sister.

It had been only a day and a half since Miss Pillsbury had found me sleeping in my car in the school parking lot. I was too ashamed to go to anyone else, I didn't have the money to go to a motel for the night, and, obviously, I couldn't try to go home again. Miss Pillsbury insisted that I stay with her. I swallowed what little I had left of my pride and agreed. And thank God for her, honestly, because in the short time I'd been staying with her, she'd acted more like a mother to me than my own mom had. I guessed that it was because Miss Pillsbury didn't have much of a stake in my appearance or reputation. Still, it was nice to have someone who actually cared about me, and not how I made her look in front of her book club friends.

Since the truth about the baby came out, I'd been taking a slushie to the face, sometimes twice a day, courtesy of Finn's friends on the football team (But never from Finn. Even after everything, he could never hurt me), and that was nothing compared to having to see how much I'd hurt Finn every day in Glee practice. Besides the guilt that I could never make disappear, Glee was still the best part of my day. There were ten other people who loved me, despite what I'd done to them in the past, and how spectacularly I'd screwed up my own life.

Which brings me to this moment. Earlier this morning, I'd realized that none of my clothes, not even my fat-girl pants, fit over my baby bump anymore. After a half hour of crying hysterically, Emma trying (in vain) to calm me down, I finally called Kurt. I knew we never really talked to each other outside of Glee, but I didn't know who else I could go to. Britt and Santana were too embarrassed to go into a maternity store with me. Also, in a weird way, being gay in Lima is a lot like being a pregnant sixteen-year-old. People who don't even know you give you funny looks and think that they're better than you just because you're different.

Plus, who else could I go to with a shopping emergency?

An hour later, Kurt and I were walking in to "Bun In The Oven", the only store at the mall that sold pregnant-lady clothes. He was having fun, sorting through the elastic waistbands and shirts with tons of belly room.

I was seriously considering grabbing the first pair of pants I saw and getting the hell out.

Kurt shoved an armload of dresses into my hands and told me to go try them on. I went in the dressing room and pulled a yellow one over my head, and let Kurt in to see what he thought.

"Quinn, that looks fantastic. It's a ten."

And then I burst into tears. I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones or the big new clothes, or just the fact that I really, really wanted my mom. I expected Kurt to get all awkward and leave, like guys always do when girls cry. But he didn't. He wasn't like most boys. He pulled a pack of tissues out of his man-purse and sat down with me.

I was so hysterical it was embarrassing.

"I d-don't know what I'm going to do!" I sobbed. "I can't t-take care of her, I c-c-can't give her to Terri Schuester anymore… My parents hate me, Finn hates me, and I ruined my wh-h-hole life. God, what did I do?"

"Quinn, you need some perspective."

I wasn't even saying words now, just sobbing uncontrollably and babbling.

"You're making it sound much worse than it really is." Kurt said, calmly. I was about to ask him how he thinks the situation could possibly be any worse, but he kept going.

"You have a place to stay, it's not like you're living in your car. You'll find a good family for your daughter, and Finn…" He stopped for a second with this one.

"He'll come around, he loves you."

"You think so?"

"Y-yeah, I do."

I tried to smile, a little. Kurt was right. I mean, being pregnant and disowned by my parents sucked, a lot, obviously. Finn wouldn't talk to me, or even look at me, and since the news about little Drizzle's daddy came out, I was getting slushies in the face about four times a day. In spite of all that, though…

"You know you've got ten friends who will help clean you off."


	2. An Idea

AN: This takes place about a week after Ch. 1.

"Hey Juno!"

Okay, I know it's pretty sad that I even responded to that, (or Preggo, or Fatty, or Cheating-Skank) but I turned around anyway. Just in time to get hit in the face with a grape slushie. I stood there blinking corn syrup out of my eyes and watched two anonymous football players high-five and walk away. Like throwing a drink at a pregnant girl was something to be proud of. To make matters worse, Finn had seen the whole thing. He was looking at me with something that looked an awful lot like pity. And I couldn't decide if that was better or worse than the disgust and hurt that I was used to.

I felt a hand on my arm, pulling me into the ladies' room across the hall. I squeezed my eyes shut so I couldn't see who it was. I mean, I wanted to know, but if I opened them I'd probably start bawling. And that was NOT something I did. In public. Usually.

I took a few deep breaths and opened my eyes. Rachel Berry was standing by the sink, pulling a washcloth and a mini bottle of shampoo out of her purse.

I realized that it was probably because of me that she even started carrying that stuff to school in the first place.

"Are you okay, Quinn?" She asked, handing me the washcloth.

I wiped the slushie off of my face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine."

I grabbed a big wad of paper towels to wipe out the sink. Once it was sufficiently clean, I stuck my whole head in and rinsed my hair out. Better than walking around with sticky, purple hair all day. I thanked Rachel for her help, and was about to go to Emma's office, where she let me keep an extra pair of clothes. But something made me stop, and turn around.

It was this new idea that had been rolling around in my head. It was about my baby. Ever since Terri sent me a letter (along with a check for $200, which was definitely helpful) saying she was in therapy and couldn't take her anymore, I didn't know what to do. I mean, the lady was a little crazy, but she had given me an option. I wanted to give her to the Schuesters. Mr. Schue would be a great dad, and Terri would make sure the baby was always safe and healthy and well taken care of. That was so much more than I could give her.

But lately I'd been thinking that maybe I wouldn't have to find a new plan. I knew it was a long shot, but it had occurred to me that Mr. Schue might still want the baby. Even without Terri, he could give her so much more than I could.

Anyway, I needed to tell someone about this, to see if it was really as crazy an idea as it seemed. And Rachel was right there, compassionate, understanding, totally willing to help me even after everything I did to her.

"Hey, Rachel, can I ask you something?" 

"Sure, anything." She said, looking a little confused.

"I've been thinking. I still really want to give my baby to Mr. Schuester. Do you think he'd take her?"

And then Rachel got this look on her face, like that was the best idea in the world and it would make everything okay again. She was a little nuts. But nice.

"Of course he'd want her! That's a great idea! It'll make him so happy."

I honestly hoped so. After everything I'd done, everything that Terri had done, he deserved to be happy.

For a second I wondered if Terri had ever felt as trapped and hopeless as I felt.

"I want to go ask him, but I don't want to go alone. This is kind of a lot to ask, I know, but… would you come with me?" I asked, hesitantly.

Rachel's face, like, lit up. I'm barely exaggerating here.

"Yes! Yes, I'd love to go talk to him with you. Moral support is my middle name!"

I felt a little relieved to know that someone else thought it was a good idea. What really mattered, though, was if Mr. Schue was willing to adopt her. We decided to go talk to him after Glee practice.

I spent the rest of the day thinking of what to say, writing out several drafts and then throwing them away. Nothing I could come up with described just how much I needed him to adopt my baby.

Glee practice finally came. I must have looked pretty nervous the whole time, because Puck kept coming over and asking if I was all right. I knew I should probably tell him what I was going to do, but I just couldn't. Not yet. Puck was a good guy, and everything, but he was about as ready to be a parent as I was. She deserved a real family, not just two kids who don't know what they're doing. Plus, if the thing with Mr. Schuester worked out, he would still get to be a part of Drizzle's life.

After an hour, it was over. Rachel and I were hanging back by the piano, waiting for everyone to leave. Finally, the last couple kids walked out the door. Mr. Schue turned to us.

"Hey, guys, what's going on?"

I took a deep breath and started to pull out my note card, on which I had written everything I had planned to say. But then I realized that was stupid and just shoved it further into my pocket.

"I just needed to ask you something."

"Sure, anything." He said. I was so glad he wasn't mad at me after everything. I would be mad at me.

"I know this is kind of a lot to ask, but I've been thinking… It's about my baby. I really can't keep her, and if anyone adopts her, I'd want it to be you. I don't know if that's something you'd want to do or not…"

"Wow." He said, quietly. Rachel and I listened closer to see if it was a "Wow, I can't believe you're giving me the baby I've always wanted." Or a "Wow, you've got a lot of nerve offering me your baby after you helped my wife lie to me for three months."

He smiled. It was a good wow.

"Quinn, I… If that's something you really want…"

"It is."

"I'll talk to my lawyer tonight about an adoption."

For the first time in a very, very long time, I felt like things were finally working out.


	3. Milk

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I totally appreciate it.

It all started last Saturday morning. I poured myself a bowl of Frosted Flakes, only to realize just seconds later that we were out of milk. Not real milk, of course, because Emma couldn't stand the thought of eating anything that came out of a cow. Soymilk. I'd gotten used to all of the weird healthy food by then. Plus I liked eating it. It was good for the baby.

I grabbed my purse and headed for the store. Usually Emma would have offered to go. She didn't really like to make me run errands or anything that might in some way hurt the baby, who was probably going to be her stepdaughter someday. But she spent the night at Mr. Schuester's house, (Ew…) and she wasn't back yet.

When I got to the store, I noticed something strange in the parking lot. Not strange, so much as unnerving. Dad's car was in the parking lot. I double-checked the license plate number to be totally sure it wasn't just some look-alike car. It wasn't.

Lima was a small town, and my parents did eat food, so I probably shouldn't have been too surprised to see them at the grocery store. But I hadn't seen or even spoken to either of my parents since they threw me out of the house two months ago. Still, now that the opportunity had presented itself, I was curious to see if I was really as dead to Mom and Dad as they had made me believe.

I forgot about the milk temporarily, and walked around the store, scanning up and down the aisles for my parents. After a few minutes, I found them, debating the merits of white over wheat bread.

I probably looked like a huge creeper there, but I stood, watching, until my dad left to get something at another part of the store. I couldn't talk to him yet. If either of them were going to forgive me and take me back, it was going to be Mom. I walked up behind her.

"Mommy?"

She turned around, looking just as surprised as I must have when I saw the car in the parking lot. Her eyes got all wide and watery, and for just a second, I thought maybe everything was going to be okay.

It wasn't. Just as soon as that glimmer of love and forgiveness had appeared, it was gone. Her features iced over almost immediately. It was something I used to admire about my mom, how she could just hide her emotions, so deep down that nobody could figure her out. In my family, that was real power: making people think you were something you weren't.

"Quinn." She said, politely. "How have you been?"

That was what hurt more than anything, my own mother talking to me like some acquaintance that she hadn't seen in a few months, instead of her little girl. I knew I had to stay cool too, at that point. Spilling my guts out to her wouldn't get me anywhere.

"I miss you." Damn.

Well, nothing to lose now, might as well start crying like a little baby right? I mean that's not exactly what I did. I had just enough self-control to avoid that. But not so much as to keep myself from telling her all about how mean everyone at school was being, and how Finn wasn't her father, and how he hated me now, and how I felt like I ruined everything in my life. I sounded like a little kid whining about a bad day at school, and it disgusted me.

And then my dad came back.

"What are you doing here?" he said. Almost angrily, like just because he kicked me out of the house, I wasn't allowed to even be in the same building as them anymore. I missed him too, but I kind of lost any hope of getting my dad back a long time ago.

"Out of milk. I should go. It was nice to see you." Then I ran away, feeling like an idiot. I had gotten exactly what I expected to get, which was nothing, but part of me still felt disappointed. I guess I never totally gave up on Mom taking me back. But I should have known. She'd never go against anything my father said.

I ran out into the parking lot and got in the car. I didn't cry, although God knows I wanted to. Just set off for home. Well, my new home anyway.

I was halfway down the street when I realized I forgot the damn milk.

A/N: I'm going to try to update again this weekend. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. And possibly happier. If y'all want anything in particular to happen, leave me a review, and you might see your idea in the next couple chapters!


	4. In which Finn speaks to Quinn

I saw his mohawk from across the hall. He was talking to Rachel by her locker. They did that a lot, lately. Just talked. And I knew they weren't doing anything else, because they weren't dating, and if they were just messing around he'd never talk to her in public. He always looked happy when he was talking to her, not that he usually got too many words in. Still, it was kind of nice to see him happy for a change. Since Baby-gate broke, he was just as universally hated as I was. The Glee kids still loved all of us, but even they usually worried about Finn first. They were trying, which was totally appreciated, but all they could see was that Finn, whose girlfriend was having a baby with his best friend, needed a friend more than Puck.

Anyway, I hated to break up their conversation, but I was willing to bet my thing was slightly more important.

"Hey Puck, hey Manh-Rachel." Okay, I know. We were friends, but old habits die hard. "I need to talk to you."

"I'll leave you two alone." Rachel said, skipping off to join Kurt at the end of the hallway.

"Hey, what's up? Is it about the baby? Did something happen to her?" He asked, suddenly all concerned.

"Yes, and no." I replied. "She's fine. Great, actually. I just wanted to tell you, I found someone to adopt her." Yeah, I knew he wasn't too crazy about the adoption idea, but he knew we couldn't really keep her.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, trying to look less concerned than he really was. As if he thought I couldn't see through that. "Who are they?"

"He, actually. The guy's getting divorced. He has a girlfriend, though." I knew I was making him a little nervous. It was totally on purpose. He'd just think it was that much more awesome when I told him who it was.

Okay, he was looking genuinely anxious by now. Enough build up.

"It's Schue. I asked him to adopt her. He said yes."

A smile spread across his face.

"No shit?"

Articulate as always, Puck.

"So, like, we'll still get to see her and stuff?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, open adoption. I have a meeting with his lawyer next week. Do you want to go?"

"Yeah, you know it. This is great."

"Yeah." It actually was, for once. He started looking around, probably for Rachel. Because they were BFFs, now, apparently.

"Hey, do you like her?" I asked him.

"Like who?" 

"Rachel, duh."

He laughed. "Baby, if I 'liked' her, we'd be doin' it by now." I rolled my eyes.

"Ohhhkay."

"Nah, she's cool. We're buds. She's trying to help me get in to college, and stuff."

So this kind of surprised me. Puck thought school was for losers, basically. The idea of him seeking a higher education was a little unbelievable.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I figure I'll get in somewhere. All my teachers pass me so I can play football. Plus, I've been going to Pillsbury's SAT prep class every week. And Berry's like a human dictionary, so I know a lot of vocab by now.

I was impressed. He was actually trying. I wondered why Emma didn't tell me he was going to her class.

"Oh, and I told Pillsbury not to start telling people I was trying in case things didn't work out."

Mystery solved.

"Good for you, Puck. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks babe. Hey, I gotta go. Meeting with Schue's lawyer next week?" He was obviously dying to tell Rachel the news. She already knew, you know, since she was there, but he didn't know that. Ah, well. She'd act surprised for him, anyway.

"Yep, Thursday night."

"Sweet. I'll be there." He touched my stomach and walked away. That was his way of saying goodbye to the baby, I guess. Puck was really sweet when he wasn't acting like a jackass.

Then I remembered that I actually had a class I was supposed to be getting to. I turned around and headed toward my locker.

Finn was standing right next to it. I thought for half a second that maybe he was going to talk to me. Then I remembered that his locker was next to mine, and that I hadn't seen him at our lockers in so long because I'd been avoiding going there at the same time as him. So he wouldn't have to look at me. But there he was. He saw me, too. I kept my head down and pulled a book out of my locker. I turned around to go, and then Finn said something.

"I know you're sorry. You don't have to run away every time you see me."

It had been 6 weeks since Baby-gate broke. Finn was still mad, I knew it, and he had every right to be. But he didn't have it in him to hate me for that long. He was too forgiving.

I didn't know what to say to him. "I'm sorry" would be pretty redundant, but nothing else seemed quite right, either. Leave it to Finn to make it easier for me. He was always doing that.

"So how is she?" He asked, sincerely.

"She's good. Healthy. The doctors say it looks good."

"Good. I'm glad."

Then he went to class, and I went on digging for my chem book in my locker. It was amazing how talking to him for just a second made me feel so much better about everything. I'd missed him so much.

He didn't forgive me yet. But it was a start.

A/N: Review, por favor. Tell me what you want to see, I might write it in.


	5. Waiting For Life

Oh gods, oh gods, are you there?

What can I do to get you to look down and give in?

Oh gods, oh gods hear my prayer…

I'm here in the field with my feet on the ground and my fate in the air…

Waiting for life to begin!

It was a new song I was working on for Glee. Since Coach Sylvester kicked me off Cheerios, I needed something to throw all of my energy into. I'd always been that kind of person, who needs to work hard at something in order to avoid losing her mind. It was a distraction from everything that had been going on lately. Still I really liked that song. It was from some play that I'd never seen, and I didn't know what it was about. The song, though. I heard Rachel singing it on her Myspace page one time, like a year ago. I'm pretty sure I left a comment to the effect of "Please go jump off of a cliff."

That wasn't me anymore.

The song stayed with me. I'd never admit it to Santana or Danielle or Macy or whatever other Cheerio was defacing Rachel's Myspace with me back then, but that song got to me. It was joy, there's no other way to describe it. Something about her voice stayed in my mind for all that time- she sounded so happy and excited when she sang it. I remember thinking at the time, "What does Crazypants Berry have to be happy about?"

I still didn't know, but I wanted to feel like that, too.

I was almost six months pregnant, and at my last appointment, the doctors had warned me about possible complications for when I deliver. It didn't matter how many times the doctors told me that, most likely, nothing bad would happen, I was scared shitless. I was a mess, crying all the time. But not in front of people.

But, yeah, I needed a distraction. That was where "Waiting For Life" came in. I sang for a little while longer, but belting was exhausting. Also, I sucked at it.

Plus, I was starting to feel panicky about the possibility of bleeding to death in three months. I called Puck. He wasn't really the most sympathetic person on earth, but he offered to be there for me, whatever I needed. Even if it was somebody to tell me, "Trust me, babe, you're not gonna die."

The phone rang.

"Hello?" The voice at the other end said. It was most definitely not Puck. It sounded like… no, it couldn't be.

"Finn?"

"Oh, hey Quinn" He said, like he talked to me every day.

"Hey. Why are you on Puck's phone?" I asked. I was under the impression that Finn still wanted to run over Puck with an eighteen-wheeler. Guess not.

"We're hanging out. Playin' Halo."

Okay, was I in the Twilight Zone, all of the sudden?

"Anyway" Finn continued, "He left to buy dip. He'll be back in a minute."

"Oh… um, thanks. I'll call back some other time."

"Ok, see ya later."

"I lo- I mean bye."

It was a force of habit, but I almost told Finn I loved him. That wasn't true anymore, was it? I mean I couldn't still love him. It would be unhealthy to love someone who doesn't love you back. I did miss him, though, more than anything. I stopped myself. It hurt too much to think about Finn, no matter how thrilled I was that he was speaking to me (and, apparently, Puck).

A/N: Sorry, it's short. I'm gonna try to post a very Puckleberry-flavored chapter pretty soon. Make sure you leave me a comment to tell me what you think! Also, I suggest that you all go find the video of Lea Michele singing "Waiting for Life". The video inspired this chapter. There's another of her singing "Touch Me" from Spring Awakening in the same show. May I just say "Oh. My. God."


	6. Puck's Mom

The doorbell rang at six o clock on Thursday night. Emma got up off the couch to go answer it. I was in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner. It was one of the only things I did around the house. Emma didn't really want me cleaning, since I was pregnant, but I wasn't going to sit around and not do anything, after all she did for me. My parents raised me right.

I looked down the hall to see who it was. A woman was standing outside the door. I couldn't see her too well from the kitchen, but she looked hysterical. Her face was puffy and I could see from all the way down the hall that her eyes were bloodshot from crying. The poor woman was devastated. I was a little curious as to what she was doing on our doorstep, but I found out soon enough.

"Quinn, could you come in here?"

I was totally confused. What did I have to do with this lady and her problem? The lady pulled herself together enough to form a coherent sentence.

"Hi, honey. I'm Dianna Puckerman, Noah's mother."

Oh. That's what.

"Noah told me everything, I just wanted to tell you that if you ever need anything, just call, and I'll…" She broke off with a sob. I looked at her. Ms. Puckerman had worry lines and bags under her eyes, and looked like she hadn't had a good nights sleep in weeks. I wouldn't be surprised, what with her husband who walked out eight years ago, and Puck's occasional delinquency. Still, she couldn't have been older than like thirty-four or thirty-five. I wouldn't have been at all surprised if she told me that she had been in the same situation sixteen years ago.

The next day, I saw Puck at his locker. I started over there to talk to him about his mom's visit, but he was busy. I looked down a little to see none other than Rachel Berry, going on and on about something the way only she can. And Puck didn't seem annoyed or bored at all. He was looking at her in a way I'd never seen him look at anyone before. Like he just wanted to plant one on her in front of everyone. It was sweet, but at the same time it kind of made me want to hurl my breakfast all over the floor.

And then, oh my God, he did.

Everyone who saw the whole thing was in shock. Most people didn't pay much attention the first time they were together. They kind of figured he'd leave her right after he slept with her just to prove he could. That was kind of Puck's thing. It freaked them the hell out to see him kissing some girl he'd ALREADY broken up with, especially when said girl was Rachel freaking Berry.

When they finally came up for air, she was absolutely glowing with happiness, but she didn't look surprised or anything, indicating that this wasn't the first time they've kissed since they broke up. Again, gross. Puck had a smear of pink lipstick all across his mouth, which was super attractive. Then Rachel saw me and looked all guilty all of the sudden. I guess she felt bad for making out with a guy in front the girl who's having his baby. As if _I_ wanted him. Puck saw me too and waved me over.

"Hey, baby-mama. What's going on?"

"Clearly, my thing is not as important as what's going on here, so… What exactly is going on here?"

"It's just… we… um." Rachel said, blushing furiously.

"Chill, baby." He told her. "Quinn's cool. Yeah, this kind of happened last night."

"Oh, you mean last night after you told your mom that I'm having your baby. Weird, but go on." I responded.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot she went over there. So I was upset cuz I made my mom cry. And I called Berry and she came over and then, well, this happened."

So. Puck likes to make out with his ex-girlfriends to get over the guilt of making his mother cry. Well, I guess it worked for him.

"This didn't just happen, Quinn." Rachel finally said, still bright pink, but much more articulate. "It wasn't like, a booty call or anything. We were just talking at first." 

Ohhkay. I had to fight the urge to laugh hysterically at the fact that Rachel just used the term "Booty call". Honestly, it was surprising that such words were polluting her virginal little brain.

"No, it's fine, you don't have to tell me." I said, wanting right now to squish any suspicion that I might be jealous. Maybe a little, the first time they were a couple, but not now. After everything, there was really only one person I could worry about, and that was the baby.

"So." Puck said, changing the subject. "You met my mom…"

Review, please!


	7. In which Quinn gets her heart broken

A/N: Quinn's at like 7 months now. Probably will be 3 or 4 chapters left.

I'm fat, and totally alone. Puck has Rachel, Tina has Artie, Finn has, well, the love and support of everyone in the whole freaking school, and as for me? I have my baby, who isn't even born yet. I don't know how I'm going to get through the next few months, but I know I'm going to love this kid like crazy when she comes, even though she won't be my daughter.

It all happened last week. Mr. Schue set up another Glee Club invitational, this time without Orange April. We performed a few new numbers we'd been working on, plus Mercedes finally got her solo. Things went off without a hitch. Afterward, everyone went out to see their parents. Everyone except me, and Finn, whose mom couldn't make it, I guess.

It ended up being just the two of us sitting in the choir room. I felt like I should leave him alone. He was past being really angry at the mere sight of me, but I still wasn't his favorite person in the world. I didn't actually leave though, because going outside to see everyone's happy families was not really my cup of tea either. I decided just pulling out a chair and sitting down, far enough to give him his space, but not so far as to look like I was avoiding him. Very strategic. I had some trouble pulling the top chair off the stack, though, so Finn got up to help me.

"You don't have to do that, I've got it." I said even though I was pregnant and not that tall and SO did not have it at all.

"Nah, it's okay." He waved me off and effortlessly pulled the chair off and sat it down next to his. Then he gave me that smile, the one that always used to make me melt. It still did. I sat down next to Finn and tried to bridge the awkward silence.

"So, things went pretty well tonight." I observed.

"Yeah, it was good. Think we've got a good shot at regionals. My mom got Mike's parents to video it cause she had to work late tonight."

So that's where Ms. Hudson was. I said "Oh" instead of "My parents DID NOT ask anyone to tape the performance for them because they no longer care if I live or die." Because I thought that would sound bitter. Not that I was, or anything. Nope.

"So how's the baby doing?" He asked. The baby was kind of his go-to topic for any time he got stuck in an awkward conversation with me. It was sweet, though, that he still cared about her even though he knew it wasn't his daughter.

"She's still doing well. She's healthy, has all her fingers and toes, and no extras." He laughed, a little. It reminded me of before he found out, in between the times we were mad at each other, when we would just lay in his bed and talk about the baby. When we'd talk about what we thought she would look like and how big she'd be. Those were the times when I really wanted to keep her, even though I knew I couldn't.

"And you?" He asked, looking genuinely concerned. I knew I'd been looking pretty bad lately. Sleeping is hard when you're seven months pregnant.

"I'm okay, Finn. Just a little worried about complications, but other than that, pretty good." Okay, I kind of intended to make him worry a little. I'm not a saint, obviously, and part of me still wondered if he still cared about me, just a little.

"What kind of complications?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Finn, don't worry about it. The doctors said most likely nothing's going to happen. How've you been, by the way?" I said, trying to change the subject. Yeah, I know I brought it up, but it was still kind of scary.

"Not bad. Started doing my homework again. Sometimes." He smiled at me again, and I had to smile back. It used to be that he could always make me smile, even when I didn't feel like it. It sounds silly, but for a second, things went back to the way they were before. I almost forgot I was pregnant.

"I miss you, Quinn."

"I miss you, too."

Then he kissed me, and I remembered exactly how much I had missed him.

And then, he got this sort of horrified, wide-eyed look, like he couldn't believe what he had just done. It was almost like he just remembered how much I had hurt him, and was reliving it. And I hated myself for putting him through it again, even though I hadn't done anything this time.

"I'm sorry!" I said out of instinct.

"No… I just… I should go." He sputtered. Poor Finn was really freaking out. He grabbed his backpack and almost ran for the door.

Finn pulled the door open and was halfway out when he turned around.

"I'm not perfect either, Quinn. I'm not."

And then he was gone, and I was alone again.


	8. New Quinn

AN: One more after this, and then an epilogue

Lately I'd been thinking about my life in terms of three periods: Baby Quinn, Old Quinn, and New Quinn. Baby Quinn was me all the way up to Jr. High. She was a little kid who believed that everything her parents said was gospel. She was naïve and innocent. She never thought to question authority, or the status quo. She knew that she had friends, and she knew that Rachel Berry didn't. Her parents told her that it was because Rachel's dads were Jewish and GAY and that they were going to hell. Baby Quinn never once wondered why her mom and dad wanted the Berrys to suffer; She just assumed that mommy and daddy were right, because mommy and daddy were always right, and that was just the way it was. Baby Quinn longed to grow up to be just like her big sister Kelly: Smart, pretty, and popular. She thought that all the boys in school had cooties, except for Finn Hudson, because he just seemed too nice to ever be afflicted with such a condition.

I was Old Quinn all the way from about seventh grade to sophomore year of high school. She was almost exactly like Baby Quinn, believing that her parents were perfect. But by then, she had realized that she wasn't, and that she had to do anything in her power to keep that from the rest of the world. If she hid all the bad things, they didn't exist. Old Quinn threw all of her energy into becoming the head Cheerio, looking perfect every day, keeping her grades up (but not high enough to be considered a dork), and keeping everyone else down to prove to them that she was better. Old Quinn was terrified that someone would figure out one day how hard she had to work to maintain that façade. Old Quinn didn't even admit to herself how unhappy she was.

Old Quinn was so terrified of disappointing anyone that she kept herself awake at night worrying that she wasn't good enough for Mom and Dad.

The truth was, Old Quinn really wanted to sleep with Finn, she really did. Not that she ever, in a million years, would have let him or anyone else know that. She couldn't, because then he'd know that she wasn't as wholesome and innocent as she pretended to be. The truth was, she didn't care as much what Puck thought of her. That's why she slept with him instead. She slipped up once, got a little drunk, and ended up pregnant.

Somehow, during those nine months of hell, Old Quinn developed in to New Quinn New Quinn knew that almost nobody liked Old Quinn. She finally found out who she really was, what she really loved, and who her real friends were. To the outside world, New Quinn probably seemed like a ruined life: a pregnant teenager whose family would just as soon pretend that she didn't exist. New Quinn constantly regretted hurting her boyfriend, but deep down, she knew everything was going to be okay. New Quinn was lonely, but she was also empowered. The truth is, when you let everybody in your life down, you can stop worrying about disappointing them. In a way, the worst was over. She honestly liked not having to worry about what people thought of her anymore.

Lately, I found that I liked being New Quinn, and for the first time, I felt really in control of my life.

At the moment, though, being New Quinn sucked, because New Quinn was doubled over in pain. I seriously felt like I was being stabbed in the gut. Once I realized that the pain wasn't just indigestion, I staggered over to the phone. Wiping the tears out of my eyes, I dialed Puck's number.

"What's up, Baby Mama?"

"Puck, I think she's coming."


	9. The Birth of Drizzle

Emma and I had just walked through the doors of Lima General Hospital when I heard the two of them outside.

"Come on, Berry!"

"Noah, I can't run that fast! My legs are short!"

I laughed when, two seconds later, Puck burst through the door, dragging a breathless Rachel behind him.

"What happened?" He panted. "Did you have the baby?"

All three of us girls laughed that time, and Puck looked slightly offended.

"What? I don't know how this childbirth thing works!"

"Well, Puck, I still look like I have a bowling ball strapped to my belly, so I think that should have tipped you off."

"Next!" Called the hospital's receptionist. I stayed back with Puck and Rachel while Emma talked to her. I was pretty much scared out of my mind. Puck looked equally freaked out and excited, and Rachel was smiling so much I thought her face would break. Well, she wasn't the one who was going to be giving birth in a few hours. A couple seconds later, a nurse came into the lobby with a wheelchair. I got in, and Puck and Emma followed the nurse to wherever she was pushing me while Rachel sat down and immediately started calling everyone we knew.

Pretty soon, we got up to my room on the 3rd floor, which is where they keep all the babies. The doctor told me I wasn't going to deliver for a while, so what I actually ended up doing was walking laps around the maternity ward. Puck came with me so Emma could call Mr. Shue.

"I can't believe this is happening." Puck said as we walked (or in my case, waddled) through the halls. All of the doors had signs saying "It's a boy" or "It's a girl" with the new babies' names on them. Some of them were truly ridiculous. I was so glad that Mr. Shue wasn't insane, and I didn't have to worry about him calling the baby something like Sapphire or Indiana. And not to dump on Indiana's parents, or anything, but we're in Ohio, for God's sake.

"Yeah, me either."

"Does it hurt? The contractions or whatever?"

"Not really, it's not that baOWW!" I replied. It's really awesome when a particularly awful contraction hits right in the middle of a sentence. I pretty much had Puck's hand in a death grip, so he was cringing as well. Good. He was half responsible for it, so he should have had to take some of the pain. After a few seconds, both of us recovered and kept walking.

"Finn asks about you a lot, you know."

"Yeah?" This was pretty good news. It was nice to know he still cared about me. And her. Still, since the invitational, thinking about Finn usually made me cry. I still wondered what he meant by "I'm not perfect, either." It had occurred to me that something happened between him and Rachel. I'd thought that for a while. It was the whole reason I even joined Glee. Something probably did happen between them, I decided. But whatever it was, it had been over for a long time. And I couldn't hold it against either of them. I didn't want to. Rachel was my friend by then, and no matter what Finn had done, it was clearly the lesser of the two evils. Despite everything, I was proud of myself. I'd grown up. I wasn't a vindictive, mean little girl anymore, and it felt really good. The contractions, however, did not. I clearly learned that lesson the hard way.

A few hours passed, and the doctor finally said I was ready to have her. It was kind of sad, actually. As much as being pregnant sucked (and believe me, it did suck), the baby had been a part of me for nine months. I'd been through so much with her, and, even though she wasn't technically born yet, I sometimes felt like she was the only one in the world who didn't hate me. Seriously, I don't know if I could have handled giving her to a stranger and never seeing her again.

I was on this bed with wheels and some nurses were pushing me to the Labor and Delivery area. Puck and Emma were coming with me. I was freaking out because a baby was coming out of me. Emma was, too, because of all of the blood and guts and other things that I didn't want to think about that were gonna come out when I had the baby. She's not good with messes, you know. Puck was trying to go through breathing exercises with me, but neither of us had ever been to a Lamaze class or anything, so he really had no clue what he was doing. It did make it a little better though, to watch him make all of these ridiculous faces at me while we were going to L&D.

We finally got to the room. Puck and Emma were on either side of me, and I was squeezing the life out of both of their hands. The pain was just ungodly, and I was more physically exhausted then than I'd ever been in my life. And that's saying something, since I used to be a Cheerio.

Something was wrong. I knew something really bad was happening. The doctors all looked worried, and that scared the crap out of me. I was trying to ask what was going on, but I was so tired that nothing would come out. After what seemed like hours, I gave one final, agonizing push, and my baby was out. And she was healthy. She was a big, beautiful, healthy baby girl. I really thought it was all going to be okay then. And then I heard Puck.

"Ms. P., what's going on? Why is there so much blood? That can't be normal!" He sounded scared. He was never scared. I could feel the blood pooling under me. That might have been the most horrible feeling in the world. Some nurses took my baby out of the room. I looked up at Emma, who was turning a little green. I hoped she'd look away so she wouldn't faint.

The doctors were all running around yelling at each other. I heard one of them yell, "She's bleeding out", but I couldn't see anything anymore. I couldn't feel anything but numbness, except for when one doctor stabbed an IV into my arm. Even in that state, I knew it was bad. I was scared. The only sound I could hear was Puck muttering, "Oh shit, oh shit" to himself next to me. There was so much I wanted to tell him and Emma. I wanted them to know how grateful I was to both of them for taking care of me through this. I wanted to tell Rachel and Artie and Kurt and all of my other new friends that I loved them and that I was sorry for how I'd treated them before. I wanted Britt to know that she was the sweetest person I'd ever met, and Santana to know that I was always glad to have her as a friend, even when we fought, which was a lot. I wanted to tell my sister I loved her, and my parents that I forgave them. I wanted to tell Mr. Shue that he's the only one I would ever trust to take care of my baby. Most of all, I wanted Finn to know that I was still in love with him and would always regret hurting him.

I couldn't say any of that though. The only thing I heard was Emma next to me, whispering, "It's okay, Quinn, you did great. It's over, Quinn. Please stay with me. Please try to stay with me," as I slipped away.


	10. Epilogue

A/N: Sorry It's been so long since the last chapter. Life's busy. Anyway, here's the epilogue, hope you enjoy it!

The only thing I could see was this blinding white light. It sounds cliché, but it felt warm and comforting, like someone I loved holding my hand, and I really wanted to go toward it. It was so surreal, so much that I couldn't feel any grief or fear or pain anymore, and I couldn't help but whisper,

"The light… I want to go toward it."

"What?" Said a voice, laughing. I tore my eyes away from the light and looked around. Finn was sitting next to me, looking both relieved and confused. Turns out, I wasn't dead. Finn had been holding my hand the whole time, waiting for me to wake up. Also, the hospital light bulbs were just really freaking bright. Well, that was embarrassing.

He looked at me, right into my eyes, just like he used to.

"Can we be in love again?"

I started crying, like a lot, which was apparently something I did now. And maybe it was because I was so glad to not be dead, or because my stomach and… lower regions… still hurt like crap, or because I was finally getting another chance, which was a dream I'd let go of a long time ago.

"You're… are you sure?"

He nodded slowly, and squeezed my hand tighter. "I missed you, Quinn. I really loved you, still do, and that's why I was so mad. And yesterday when you were having her, and I thought I'd never see you again…"

"Holy crap," I thought. "I've been out for a whole day?"

Finn started blinking a lot, like he was trying not to cry. I tried to sit up a little straighter, which was a BAD idea, because my body started screaming at me to just lay there and NOT move.

"I love you, Finn."

"I love you too, Quinn."

So that's how that story ends. I made a mistake. I lost everything that ever mattered to me, my body, reputation, friends, family, and Finn, and somehow everything turned out okay. My baby's name was Lucy Corrine Schuester. She was healthy and beautiful, and even though I wasn't going to be her mom, Mr. Shue called me first whenever he needed a babysitter. Finn and I never went back to being "high-school royalty", which was fine with us, and I never went back to Cheerios. In fact, I started cultivating other hobbies and talents outside of Glee club. For example, did you know that I'm kind of a math genius? Yeah, neither did I, until I went and freaking joined math club. (I know!) My life got so much less complicated once I stopped trying to please everyone else and focused on myself. Santana and I buried the hatchet and actually became friends. Not the kind that use each other and stab each other in the back when it's convenient, but like REAL friends. And, actually, there was way less drama between Glee members after everything, you know, except for whatever Kurt tried to start just to "keep things interesting.". We really finally became a team.

And as for my family, I'm still living with Emma. My sister and her husband come to visit me every so often, but they live pretty far away, so it's not as much as I'd like. I still haven't spoken to my mom, but two days after Lucy was born, a big pink duffel bag mysteriously appeared on Emma's front porch, full of new clothes, along with a stuffed elephant that I slept with every night until I was thirteen. Her name was Ellie. I got her when I was two, okay? I wasn't that creative with names yet. I knew it was from her. As scared as she was to go against Dad and talk to me, she wasn't going to leave me alone and forget about me. And as for Dad, I still haven't heard anything from him. But I'm still not giving up on either of them. If I learned anything from the whole ordeal, it's that people can surprise you, and come through for you even when you think there's no way in hell they ever will. And if Finn was willing to give me another chance, I'll do the same thing for them.

Well, that's it…

For now.

-Quinn


End file.
